Spring break trip to AR&MO (incredibly long)

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kevin h
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Joined: January 18th, 2015, 3:04 pm

Spring break trip to AR&MO (incredibly long)

Post by kevin h »

Hey all,

So my spring break happened a couple of weeks ago and me, my best friend Ananth (another forum member), my dad Bruce and Ananth's dad Gananpathy decided to go herp Arkansas for a good old fashion dude trip. Now before I get started I'd like to extend my thanks to Kory Roberts (kaptainkory), Kelly Irwin, Wayne Brekhus, Dave Frymire (walk-about) and Dirk Stevenson. Without their help I highly doubt we'd been as successful as we were. Not to mention more than half our sites were given to us by them. The trip was planned out to see as much terrain and as many herps as possible so stick with me here, this might take awhile!

Ok so to kick things off as we headed west I wanted to stop at Land Between the Lakes to get a lifer Mississippi Slimy and with some encouragement, the others in the party agreed.
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We ended up finding several. This now meant that there were only two KY salamander lifers left for me (Mudpuppy and Three Toed Amphiuma). We also saw Eastern Zigzags, Ringnecks, a Fence Lizard and a Midwestern Worm Snake. After that we continued on to the swamps of AR. Now I was really wanting to photograph a Three Toed Amphiuma at least sometime on this trip so we spent the first night after LBL herping in a WMA. Unfortunately we didn't see anything more than a Cope's Gray and some Cricket Frogs.
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The next day we got up bright and early ready to see some more swamp herps heading to the WMA we visited that night before. On the way we stopped over a canal hopping to see something sunning and boy did we ever.
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A huge, beautiful Speckled King! This was another lifer for me and not long after I spotted this dude than Ananth saw this Plainbelly Water.
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Once we'd gotten our fair share of that canal we moved on to the WMA. Once in the WMA we drove along a lake seeing and photographing a range of turtle species. Being one of those turtle oriented herpers this was a real treat for me.
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River Cooter (lifer).
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Southern Painted (lifer).
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Musk.
Also seen were Spiny Softies, Sliders, Mississippi Maps (lifer) and a Diamondback Water (lifer). As we were leaving this WMA to head to the next WMA futher in AR, Ganapathy saw a trash pile that we just had to stop for. He then proceeded to flip up a great looking Western Ribbon Snake.
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Pressed for time we moved on to a well preserved bayou type swamp in central AR. We planned to walk a trail or boardwalk there, but apon arrival the road was closed. So instead we walked that. Along the road we saw another Softie, more Mississippi Maps, a Broadbanded Water that escaped and this Cottonmouth.
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This is probably the best snake photo of the trip. Anyway as the sun got lower in the sky our enthusiasm faded and we turned to head to the nearest restaurant. On the way back I completely walked passed another Cottonmouth while wearing sandals.
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However my lack of competence was not the best part. While we were photographing this patient dude a gust of wind blew Ganapathy's hat straight off and right onto the snake! You can guess after that it didn't stay around much longer. But don't worry we got the hat back. :lol: That night being our last night in the swamp I was still desperate to document an Amphiuma. So Ananth, my dad and I headed back out to the closed road (Gananpathy being too tired to herp). As we prepared our night gear I made the fatal decision to be lazy and not replace my headlight batteries, and just take a flashlight instead. We walked for awhile not seeing much but some huge gar that scared the crap out of me and hearing screech owls. By this point the temperature had dropped into the 40s so seeing any really dumb Mud Snakes was out of question. Then, as I was beginning to get disheartened, I saw this huge aquatic salamander coming straight at me. Juggling with the flashlight and dipnet I failed to completely net the Amphiuma and I watched in horror, as I brought the net up, to see four inches of my target slip back into the swamp. Since that moment I've been going through what one might call the 5 stages of loss. Going as far as making a parody to the R.E.M. song "Losing My Religion" ("Losing my Amphiuma"). But the night was still not over and we now knew that the aquatic salamanders were out. In fact it wasn't long after that when Ananth found a Lesser Siren causally swimming along.
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It turned out to be so chill I was able to take some garbage in situ shots. So the night didn't turn out to be a complete disaster, I only got my soul crushed. :cry: :cry: :cry: However the next day was a new day and we would again be spending it in a swampy WMA. In the morning we headed to a lake dam that Kory had told us was good for basking turtles. Having not gotten the best turtle photos up until this point I was ready spring into action. As we walked along the base we came across several Prairie Lizards (lifer) and another Plainbelly.
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It was at this point that Ananth decided that he wanted to get some more experience catching watersnakes. However this may have been 99% peer pressure from me and his dad. Anyway as he jumped into this seemingly 5 inch cattail pool, with pants on, he discovered that it was in fact actually more like 4 feet deep. There's no need in me saying that the snake escaped without worry. :lol: Not soon after that though, did the turtles start to appear.
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Mississippi Maps.
Once we thought we had gotten a sufficient amount a bad turtle pictures it was time to head back into the swamp for the last time. As I walked back the car I noticed another turtle sunning that seemed like a Painted. Wanting to get some last shots I headed in that direction. On the way I caught the glimpse of a 2nd Plainbelly flopping its way out of a tree and into the water. Once at a place where I could photograph the turtle I realized it was in fact a Painted and yes, this is my best picture of it.
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As I finished photographing the painted I noticed another snake sunning not 5 feet from the turtle. I zoomed in with my lens and saw this:
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A nice Diamondback Water. And after that I noticed another Softie which quickly vanished under the surface. It just amazed me that so many species could been seen by a nearly sedentary person. Continuing on herping it wasn't long before Ananth saw our last Diamondback of the trip.
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Along the same trail I saw another Broadbanded which escaped and a Mississippi Mud Turtle that was just chillin on the bank.
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The trail then turned and headed into upland habitat giving us the opportunity to see Marbled Salamanders, skinks of all range and several Racers. Now as much as I would have liked to spend another night failing at Amphiumas we had arranged to meet the state herpetologist Kelly Irwin that night to find some Eurcyea. I had also wanted to stop at Hot Springs National Park on the way. Getting my wish we arrived in Hot Springs to eat dinner. Thinking to myself, "We won't see anything. This is practically a city park." I didn't bring my camera. Boy was I wrong. First thing we found was a pair of Western Worm Snakes (lifer), followed up by two more Worms, then Ganapathy stumbled across the awesome spectacle of two mating Speckled Kings! Of course I didn't get photos of any of this which really bummed me out, but it was slightly balanced out when I flipped up a Western Slimy Salamander (lifer) in the car parking lot.
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With the day over we arranged with Kelly to meet up at a potential Ouachita Streambed Salamander site. Unfortunately none were found, but we did see several Many Ribbed Salamanders (lifer), a Ouachita Dusky that escaped (lifer), and a crazy Snapper sitting in this tiny stream.
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Me with the snapper (notice that NOW I have my headlight).
Another great thing that came out of the experience was the tip off that a nearby river was great for turtles, like Razorback Musks. We now had our plan for the next day, and we woke up in the morning ready for some canoeing. The river we were on was one of the prettiest I've ever seen, with riffles and crystal clear water, you could see Cooters along the bottom.
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Also common were the familiar Northern Maps.
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Then about halfway down the section of river we were running, Ananth and Ganapathy got separated from me and my dad. When they reappeared they were shouting with joy of their discovery: a great looking Razorback Musk Turtle (lifer).
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What a neat turtle! This could possibly have been the find of the trip. Back on our way down the river again the only other interesting was a Ouachita Map that dove in before my dad could paddle over for a good angle. However Ananth was able to get some ok shots that he may share. Out of the river and with still half the day left we planned to head to a nearby mountain with Western Diamondback Rattler records. The habitat look great but the weather did not. The clear sunny skies from that morning had turned into a could covered afternoon. Still we managed to see some interesting fossorials, including a Brown Snake my dad turned up, some Redbellies and several awesome Flathead Snakes.
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That concluded our day, but the next day I anticipated the most. We planned to target the 3 endemic species in the Ouachitas, and the weather cooperated perfectly, raining all day. We tried for the Rich Mountain Salamander (lifer) first, considering we were closest to that one. Within minutes of herping Ganapathy turned up the first one.
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Also in the area were more Many Ribbed, Southern Redbacked Salamanders and a Ouachita Dusky that posed for us.
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Next on the list was the Caddo Mountain Salamander (lifer) and once again we had no trouble finding it, along with Ouachita Duskies, a Ringneck, a Five Line Skink and a huge Western Slimy.
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To complete the trifecta we needed a Fourche Mountain Salamander (lifer), and after driving some seriously sketchy roads, I spotted a completely trash vernal that produced quite nicely.
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Fourche Mountain.
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Western Slimy.
These may be my favorite of the endemics. There also your usual Slimies, Redbacked and Ringneck as well. Now this whole day we were all secretly hoping for a hail mary Ringed Salamander, as we hadn't see one thus far. We decided to stop at a more legit looking vernal on our way off the mountain. Not long into herping there did we come across a couple of Cajun Chorus Frogs (lifer) and we also heard Spring Peepers calling but never saw any.
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Sadly no Ringed were found, but I did flip up this Four Toed which is apparently a lot rarer in AR than Ringed Salamanders.
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Figures I find the species that is pretty common KY, rather than the common Ringed that's only in AR. However our hopes were not totally crushed and we tried to roadcruise them on Rich Mountain that night. We saw more Rich Mountains, including the prettiest one and more Southern Redbacked Salamanders.
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We also came across a Spotted which gave us hope but in the end no Ringed were cruised. But there were some surprises like this Copperhead, on the road, in 40 degree rain!
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And later what we thought was an Ambystomid until we got closer, and realized it was a 7 inch Ouachita Dusky.
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There were also the ubiquitous American Toads, this pair I first thought was a Box Turtle.
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The next day the rain had been replaced by clear blue skies giving us a great view off Rich Mountain. Considering we were so close Ananth and I figured it was time to check yet another black Plethodon with white spots off our list.
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The Kiamichi Slimy (lifer), or as I like to say (because it bugs Ananth) the Kisachie Slimy. But luckily for us that wasn't the one find of that excursion. As I flipped a useless rock I heard Ananth gasp behind me, I turned around to see him hold a gorgeous Western Milk Snake (lifer).
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These pictures do not do it justice! Next on our blitz through AR was another WDB site that we stopped at on our way north to Missouri. We didn't see any but there was a very nice Western Ratsnake (lifer) which made the stop worth while.
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We also saw more Marbled Salamanders, Ringnecks, Cajuns, some Prairie Lizards and more unidentifiable skinks.
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This particular Cajun was very nice. The next day we moved on into MO, stopping on the way at Pea Ridge National Military Park, to satisfy the history buff side of me. There we tried to get Ozark Zigzags and Oklahomas but failed at both. Does anyone know specific micro-habitats in which they live? Obviously it isn't going to be the same for both, but still it'd be nice to know. However one thing that we did end up finding were Darksided Salamanders.
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After that we were now in MO glade territory and we started off slow only seeing Flatheads and Prairie Lizards. But it heated up real fast when Ananth flipped up a Western Pygmy Rattler (lifer)!
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This seriously contested the Razorback for coolest species of the trip. Both we never expected to see in our wildest dreams. Done with the glade we had this crazy thought to go herp a spring for Grotto Salamanders. We instantly failed when we realized the spring was way too small to crawl up in, but the hike was a total loss when we encountered a tallus slope. Within 15 minutes Ananth and Ganapathy easily flipped up Ringnecks, Slimies, Worms, a beautiful Brown and several Smooth Earth Snakes. Meanwhile my dad headed back to the car and I found nothing. :thumb:
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Believe it or not this Worm Snake was the highlight of this hike mainly because of my poor choices at Hot Springs. By this point it was completely dark and we headed towards the closest city to ready ourselves for another day of glade herping. By the way if you're still reading this by now, I applaud you, and don't worry the trip is almost over. On to the next glade we got a decent diversity of, Rough Earth Snakes (lifer), another pretty Ratsnake, a baby Speckled King, Flatheads and the usual lizards with the added bonus of the Prairie Racerunners.
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We then decided to split the day between that glade and one given to us by Wayne Brekhus that was supposedly good for Ground Snakes. On that glade we got more Ringnecks, Rough Earths, Worms, Flatheads, same lizard species with the added bonus of an Eastern Collard (lifer), a very confused Spotted and another Rat that escaped me.
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But the highlight of the day was on our way to this glade, when Ananth saw what he at first thought was a Garter slither between his legs. Seconds later he came to the conclusion that the Garter was actually a Coachwhip (lifer), but by this time it was too late and the snake had vanished in a blur. It was now his turn to feel what it felt like to lose an Amphiuma ( if that Amphiuma was a Coachwhip). By this time the glorious dude trip was coming to an end, and we only had half a day left to stop on the way home. Choosing wisely we decided to make a pit stop in Southern Illinois not far from Snake Road. Before we even got started being the ADD person I am, I decided to flip a good looking log. On the way there I stumbled across a gorgeous baby Rat that had some serious wounds on it. Because of this we chose to let it be without harassment. Once on the actual trail things go productive. There were several sunning Cottonmouths and Plainbellies and we managed to flip up Smallmouth, Spotted and Marbled salamanders in the floodplain. Also found was a Prairie Racerunner flipped up by Ganapathy, which was the first that we'd ever heard of from this site.
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I joked with Ganapathy about me catching this Plainbelly because he's always saying we need to get bit by watersnakes more and this cutie was 100% harmless. That basically wraps up our saga across AR and MO. Thanks for looking and especially thanks if you're still reading. I realize this is extremely long, I just can't condense stuff into a couple paragraphs like other people. I betcha nobody actually got this far so I could basically say "And then we found a South Florida Rainbow Snake." and nobody would care.

Thanks again, Kevin.
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Jeroen Speybroeck
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Re: Spring break trip to AR&MO (incredibly long)

Post by Jeroen Speybroeck »

Love loooong posts! Thanks!
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Kelly Mc
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Re: Spring break trip to AR&MO (incredibly long)

Post by Kelly Mc »

:beer: Seconded!

This was a great journey, thank you for sharing it!
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Berkeley Boone
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Re: Spring break trip to AR&MO (incredibly long)

Post by Berkeley Boone »

You found a SFl Rainbow snake? Cool! :)

I know you are teasing. Looks like it was a great trip. Thanks for taking us along! I appreciate all the turtle pics- nicely done.
--Berkeley
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AndyKraemer
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Re: Spring break trip to AR&MO (incredibly long)

Post by AndyKraemer »

Holy cow that's a lot of species! Nice trip!
NACairns
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Joined: December 30th, 2013, 7:27 am

Re: Spring break trip to AR&MO (incredibly long)

Post by NACairns »

Great post, great diversity.
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kevin h
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Joined: January 18th, 2015, 3:04 pm

Re: Spring break trip to AR&MO (incredibly long)

Post by kevin h »

Thanks for all the support guys!
NACairns wrote:Great post, great diversity.
Nick I'm sorry but I completely forgot to thank you in the beginning, so I'm doing it now. Thanks for the advice on what swamp species were already out and moving before we got there.
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kaptainkory
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Joined: June 28th, 2010, 11:33 pm
Location: Bella Vista, Arkansas

Re: Spring break trip to AR&MO (incredibly long)

Post by kaptainkory »

Finally had time to come back to this post... read and enjoyed all of it! Thanks for sharing your herping experiences. I know there were a couple of herp species you really wanted to see in AR, but didn't even glimpse. The early season was probably against you on those. Sorry your amphiuma got away, too. But the Razor-backed Musk was a great find; would be even for me!
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kevin h
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Joined: January 18th, 2015, 3:04 pm

Re: Spring break trip to AR&MO (incredibly long)

Post by kevin h »

kaptainkory wrote:Finally had time to come back to this post... read and enjoyed all of it! Thanks for sharing your herping experiences. I know there were a couple of herp species you really wanted to see in AR, but didn't even glimpse. The early season was probably against you on those. Sorry your amphiuma got away, too. But the Razor-backed Musk was a great find; would be even for me!
Thanks Kory, and don't worry I'll get over the amphiuma. In the end it was an awesome trip thanks to your help.
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